God's Eye View

I made my way smoothly through the crowd of jumping children to where the pretty woman was standing. As I got closer, I could tell that while she wasn't old by any means, she was older than I'd first thought she was. I now guessed that she was about the same age as me; she certainly couldn't be any older than me. I could also see, as she turned herself toward me, that her eyes were a startlingly bright shade of green. I'd never seen eyes quite that shade of green before, and I wondered if they were her natural color, or if she were wearing contact lenses of some sort.

"Hi," I said, as I closed the last few feet of distance between us. "I'm Don Summers. I'm Danielle's and Brian's dad."

She smiled (oh yes, she had a VERY nice smile) at me and held out her hand.

"Hi, Don, I'm Dawn Rogers," she said, as we shook hands. Dawn and Don, I thought with a mental laugh. That'll turn some heads at parties!

"I'm Greg's mom, and I also teach 6th grade here," she continued.

"Pleased to meet you, Dawn," I said, smiling.

"Likewise!" she said. "I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but it's kind of unusual to see a single man as a chaperone at one of these."

"I'm sure it is," I said, shrugging. "My kids are worth it, though. Besides, it's not like I've got anything else going on!"

I paused, curious.

"How'd you know I was single?" I asked.

"Well, your ring finger is unoccupied, for one. Also, that woman you've been hanging out with all night is here with her husband." She shrugged and continued, "I'm a decent observer when it comes to people, and you strike me as being unattached."

"You're pretty good!" I said. "Yes, as a matter of fact I am 'unattached' at the moment."

She grinned up at me, and it was only then that I realized I was still holding her hand.

"Oh, sorry," I mumbled awkwardly, as I released her.

"Don't be!" she said, with another of her delightful laughs. "If I minded, I would've let you know!"

Her smile, as I noted earlier, was VERY nice. It lit up her face like a beacon and thoroughly enchanted me. Her eyes, whether it was that startling green color, or some other facet of her, were hypnotizing. They sucked me in. Not only could I not look away, I had no desire to look away!

After a few minutes, I finally managed to start talking again. Honestly, I hadn't felt such an intense interest in a woman since Mandy! We pointed out our children to each other, and talked a little about each of them. I told her that Danielle was already talking about being a nurse, and about Brian getting such a kick out of helping me with my work. Dawn told me about Greg's love affair with anything electronic, and about some low-level trouble that love had led him to. Apparently, he thought he was some kind of hacker.

I was so wrapped up in talking to Dawn, that Angela got the drop on me a second time, damn it!

"Time to get the kids rounded up, Don!" she said, with a grin at my discomfiture. "The DJ is already packing up his stuff!"

Together with the other adults, we started getting the kids ready to leave. After we'd made sure the right kid was with the right parent, we cleaned up and left. All of our children were beginning to come down from the their sugar highs, and it looked like I might actually have a night of peace and quiet when I got home! As we were leaving, Dawn sidled up close to me. I was a little surprised when she linked her arm through mine as we walked the short distance from the school gym to the parking lot.

"Call me some night when you have time," she said, slipping a folded up piece of paper into my shirt pocket. "I'd love to have dinner with you, sometime!"

And then she and her son made their way to their car, and she was gone.

###

That night was a new start for me. As you might imagine, I didn't wait long to call Dawn! There was no way I could! She was absolutely captivating, and I couldn't get her off my mind. Our first dinner date didn't end in the bedroom, but it did include a few very nice kisses. She seemed to be as taken with me as I was with her, but that obviously didn't mean she was ready to simply throw all caution to the wind!

I shouldn't have been any more ready to do that than she was, but if the chance had presented itself, I would have taken her to bed in an instant! I'm not the kind of man to push for that, though, so we took things at her pace. Dawn was a fascinating woman, in many ways. She was very intelligent, but she was also very practical. Like me, she didn't have a lot of cash to throw around, so she'd come up with many simple life hacks to save money.

She shared them freely with me, thus helping me free up some always-needed funds for other things. In turn, I'd learned that she was a frustrated gardner. She loved growing things, especially flowering trees and lianas. Sadly, she was cursed with a brown thumb. Luckily, I knew lots of techniques to nurse ailing plants back to glorious life, and I was perfectly happy to share them! I was also able to help her, with just a few inexpensive tweaks (and free labor, of course!), to make over her back yard and patio, making it almost like an outdoor living room.

The sex between us, when we finally took that step, was wonderful! Her body was soft and curvy, her skin was silky and smooth, and her scent was incredible! She wasn't athletic like Brittany or Mandy, and she was pretty vanilla when it came to positions and such. But the connection I felt to her was a deep one! Whenever I slid inside of her, our eyes invariably ended up meeting. It was something that had happened only occasionally with Britt, and very rarely indeed with Mandy. With Dawn, it happened just about every time!

Looking into her eyes as I thrust in and out of her brought an intimacy to the act that deepened the experience in a way I'd never experienced. For the first time in a long time, I found myself thinking of it as 'making love' rather than as just 'sex.' As time went on, I introduced her to some new things in the bedroom -- nothing wild, just a few new positions. Well, I also showed her how much fun oral can be. She told me that while previous lovers had all but demanded that she suck their cocks, none of them had ever gone down on her.

I was only too happy to correct that situation! I've loved doing that for my lovers, but with Dawn it was truly wonderful! She had a full, but neatly-trimmed bush. Her womanly scent was enticing, and the taste of her juices was enough to drive me wild! But by far, my favorite part of eating her sweet little pussy was the way she came. She went absolutely nuts when she had an orgasm! I had to keep a firm grip on her thighs, or else I'd be thrown off like a cowboy at a rodeo!

We became more and more close to each other emotionally as well as physically. She told me about what she called her 'wild days.' In her early twenties, she'd gone through a phase were she had 'fucked anything with an erection,' as she put it. (Just to be clear, those were her words, not mine!) She'd contracted a couple of STDs, and then she'd ended up pregnant with Greg. That had been the catalyst of change, for her. Seeing the face of her baby for the first time had had a great -- and humbling - effect on her.

She realized at that moment she would have to raise him by herself, as she literally had no idea who his father was; there were way too many candidates, and she wasn't going on Maury! Her parents were absolutely sickened by her behavior. Fortunately, they quickly came to love their grandson. They agreed to let Dawn move back in with them so they could watch little Greg while she finished college and got her teaching certificate. After that, her life turned around. I was the first man she'd allowed to have her sexually in nearly two years!

I was frankly astounded that no one had drug this woman to the altar in all that time, and I said so. She laughed at me and admitted that there had been two men in her past that had tried. They both turned out to be cheaters, but fortune had smiled on her: she'd found out about it well before making that trip down the aisle, thus saving herself a lot of pain.

Of course, I told her about Brittany, and then Mandy. To say she was stunned would have been a great understatement. Unlike other women I'd told the story to, she wasn't particularly bothered by my releasing the video on the internet. Her opinion mirrored my own: actions have consequences, and she actually got off pretty lightly, all things considered!

Dawn got along well with my children, and I have to admit, her son Greg was a good kid. The kids seemed to get along pretty well with each other, too. Greg was just a couple of months younger than Danielle, and they were in the same grade. Yes, things with Dawn were going extremely well; so well, in fact, that as our relationship reached the 8-month mark, I was once again considering marriage.

Thoughts of the disaster with Mandy didn't slow me down for a second. I refused to let the past ruin my future! Of course I knew there was a chance that she would say no, and I was ready to face that, but I didn't think she would. I did talk to my children about it, though. Danielle was greatly enthused about it. Brian was less so, but he agreed that it would be 'okay.' Privately, I think he still harbored thoughts of me getting back together with Britt.

I finally bought another engagement ring (I'd ended up selling the one I'd gotten for Mandy). Now all I had to do was decide how to ask her. After thinking about it (and consulting with my Mom) I decided to do it at my 40th birthday party, in just two weeks' time. It wasn't going to be a huge affair, but my closest friends would be there, as would my parents, as well as Dawn and Greg. Yes, I thought, that would be perfect.

The only real challenges during that two-week wait were: getting the kids to keep the secret from both Dawn AND Greg, getting a secret invitation to Dawn's parents and her brother (who was her only sibling), and not accidentally doing anything on my own to give it away!

Finally, the night of my birthday party arrived. My actual birthday had been the day before, but I waited for a Friday night for obvious reasons. My parents had rented the party room at Misha's -- a local restaurant that specialized in ethnic Russian food (I had a real weakness for pierogies!). It was a nice place, but it wouldn't break the bank. It was also kid-friendly, which was an important plus!

The dinner was excellent, and I enjoyed it immensely! We had a lot of fun eating and dancing. At last, though, it was time for presents. I opened them and thanked all the people who'd given them to me. Through it all, I did my best not to give away my plans. Dawn had been slightly surprised to see her parents and her older brother at the party, but she'd taken it in stride. As I finished unwrapping my last gift, I knew I'd achieved surprise.

I set the last gift on the table and stood up. I wrapped an arm around Dawn and squeezed her gently against my side. She leaned her head against me as I smiled at everyone.

"Thank you all so much for coming tonight!" I said, brightly. "You've all made this the best 40th birthday party I've ever had!"

There was polite laughter at my little joke, and I heard one of children complain that they didn't get it. The laughter resulting from that was excellent cover for Angela as she snuck up behind me and discretely put the ring box in my free hand, and slipped away just as sneakily.

"There's just one last thing before we all take off. I've gotten a lot of presents tonight, but I'm hoping to get just one more," I said. "I'm hoping, in fact, that Dawn will give me the ultimate present!"

Dawn tilted her head up at me with a confused look on her face. I lovingly returned her gaze, locking eyes with her and grinning

"Dawn, I love you so much," I said. "You've made my life complete! The only thing that could possibly make it better would be if you gave me the gift of having you for the rest of our lives!"

I dropped to one knee and presented the opened ring box to her, all without breaking eye contact.

"Dawn, sweetheart, will you marry me?"

The private dining room went dead silent as everyone, including the kids, finally understood exactly what was happening. I gazed hungrily into my lover's eyes, waiting to hear her joyous cries of 'yes, yes!' I waited...and waited some more.

"Dawn?" I said, finally. "Honey, please, say something!"

"I...uh," she muttered, looking away from me and wildly darting her eyes around the faces in the room.

"Don, this really isn't a good time to, uh, to talk about....maybe we should, uh," Dawn stumbled over her own words, and backed away from me.

I sighed and stood back up. I watched with a slowly breaking heart as Dawn hurried over to Greg, took him by the arm, and hurried out of the restaurant without even pausing to put on her coat. A few seconds after her hurried departure, I turned back and saw that most everyone was staring at me in shock.

"Well," I said, "Anyway, thank you all for coming and making this such a wonderful evening! Have a great night, everyone!"

I offered a big, fake, smile, and collected my things. As I put my coat on, I stared at the ring box where it sat on the table. I was strongly tempted to just randomly toss the thing as I'd done the last time, but I didn't. I might as well see about getting my money back. I tucked the damn thing in my coat pocket and gestured to me kids.

"Don, honey," my Mom said, grabbing my arm lightly. "Would you like us to take the kids tonight?"

I shrugged, not really caring. "Do you guys want to spend the night with Nanna and Pappy?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool!" Brian exclaimed.

"Dad," Danielle began, "I'm so sorry-"

"Thanks, Dani, but you don't have to say anything," I said, firmly squelching whatever she might have said. I wasn't ready to hear anything like that just yet, and thankfully she picked up on that fact.

"Just remember I love you, Daddy," she said, softly. She hugged me tightly, her little arms squeezing me as hard as she could. Then she turned, gathered her things, and followed her Nanna out to their car. My Dad lingered for a moment.

"So, strike three, huh Dad?" I said.

"Yes, strike three, son," he replied, matter-of-fact. "Fortunately, life gives you more than just one turn at bat. There will be others, down the road."

"Well, if nothing else, at least I've proven I still know how to pick the good ones!" I said, with a bitterly sarcastic smile.

Dad shrugged and sighed.

"Well, son, life takes a big fat shit on all of us at some point," he said. "You aren't alone in that, I hate to tell you. All you can do is try to shrug it off and keep going. You go on and work off the stress however you see fit. Your Momma and I will take care of the kids. And, if you need to talk, you know we're always here for you."

I took my things in hand and left while Angela and Mike were settling the bill. I could tell Angie wanted to talk to me, but thankfully, Mike stopped her. I know she just wanted to be a friend to me, but the last thing I wanted at the moment was a friend.

The drive home was mercifully short. As soon as I got in the house, I double-locked the door, dumped my stuff on the sofa, and got started on a serious bender. It didn't last as long as I wanted it to; I don't keep any hard stuff in the house, and my beer supply wasn't up to the task. I considered walking to the liquor store down the street but quickly dismissed the idea. Getting blasted would feel good, but I didn't need the hangover tomorrow.

Instead, I sat in my recliner and binged on some 80's sitcoms on Netflix. After a few hours, I was feeling drowsy. I woke the next morning with a desperate need to pee, and a wicked kink in my back from sleeping in that recliner. I had to remember not to do that in the future, I thought to myself, as I took care of my morning business, then showered. After drying off, I put on some clean clothes and then went in search of breakfast -- and some aspirin (I'd evidently had enough beer to manage a hangover after all, damn it!).

As I scrambled my eggs, I tried hard not to think about Dawn. That hurt way more than my head did. What had gone wrong? I was so sure she'd felt the same way I did! Of course, my traitorous mind revisited the fact that I'd felt the same when I'd proposed to Mandy. Stupid mind. I decided then and there that I was done with the whole concept of marriage. From this point on, fuck buddies were the path to the future!

I finished my breakfast and cleaned up the mess. Then I spent a little time in the basement, using the weight bench. The pure physical exertion was just what I needed to work off some stress and anger! After that, another shower was in order, so I took care of that. As I was drying off afterward, I remembered that I hadn't turned my cell phone back on after last night.

I turned the thing on, and sure enough, my voicemail box was full. There were also a bunch of texts. I skimmed the texts first and found them all to be from friends, and all expressed some version of sympathy and offers to talk.

The voicemails were more of the same, except for one...from Dawn. It was only a couple seconds long, and it simply said, "I'm sorry, my love. Please believe I have my reasons. Hopefully you'll understand and forgive me someday. Goodbye."

I didn't return any of the messages or calls. I spent the rest of the day watching TV until my parents brought the kids home that night.

###

So, that's basically my life's story. In a lot of stories that I've read, the cheated-on husband ends up rich, married to a supermodel who's 15 years younger than him and desperate to have his babies, living in a mansion, and eating steak for every meal. I like reading those stories as much as anyone, but I'm afraid that isn't what my life's been like.

It's been 10 years since my divorce from Brittany. Danielle is in college, studying nursing (I was a little surprised she stuck with it all those years, but pleased). Brian has just graduated highshool and will start college in the fall. He's going to be a business major. Will he want to join the family business? Only time will tell!

I'm 45, now, and still single. I have the occasional rendezvous for a little bedroom fun, but there's no one in my life I would call special. A year ago, Mandy strayed back into my life -- kind of, anyway. She was just after a good time, only this time around she made that clear from the start. We had fun together on a regular basis for about two months, and then she moved on with no hard feelings.

She asked me why I never got married and I told her the truth; it's not worth the risk anymore. I would love to have a wife. I'd love to wake up next to the same face every morning and know that she was mine: to know that she'd be there for the rest of her life. But some stories don't have happy endings, and -- for now -- it looks like mine will be one of those.

Dawn's parents told me that she moved away about a year after my disaster of a marriage proposal. Before you ask, no, I didn't go looking for the info. They came to me, hoping I could convince her to move back! I thought that was crazy, seeing as how the thought of being with me is probably what drove her away to begin with. I don't know that for certain. Dawn never bothered to tell me her reasons and I just don't care enough to ask. Fuck her!

Brittany, on the other hand, did eventually get married. She (and my son Brian) spent several years trying to work out some kind of reconciliation between her and I, but that just wasn't going to happen. I don't believe that people change who they truly are. Britt was a cheating whore, and no amount of regret, sorrow, or psychotherapy would ever change that. Eventually, they gave up and she married the owner of the diner where she worked. The kids say they're happy. Good for them. I hope for his sake, he made the bitch sign a pre-nup! She's still a very, very attractive woman.